Stone-throwing yobs smash bus window

Nov 30 2009 By Adam Courtney

SHARDS of glass showered on to a little boy and his godmother after yobs hurled a stone through a minibus window.

Three-year-old Frankie Jordan was with Emma Crouch, 27, on a Peterbus in Pooley Green Road, Egham, when the glass was smashed.

Ms Crouch, of St Paul’s Road, Egham Hythe, was left shaken by the incident on the afternoon of Friday, November 20. She had been using the St Peter’s Hospital transport minibus for a shopping trip to Englefield Green.

She said: "The glass went all over me and Frankie, who was on my lap. We were lucky. I only got a cut finger, but Frankie started crying and I felt really shaken as well."

Ms Crouch strongly suspects the culprit was a pupil from Magna Carta School in Thorpe Road, Egham - which the headteacher Tim Smith categorically denies.

She said it was time for a firm action to stop pupils from all schools in the area intimidating bus users and other members of the public.

Ms Crouch, who is unemployed, said: "The only reason I get the St Peter’s bus is because, when I want to go to the shops in Englefield Green in the afternoons, the normal buses are always full of kids acting like yobs.

"I used to go to Magna Carta, so I know the uniforms. On the day of the incident, there were loads of them hanging around by the bus stops and, just before I heard a huge bang, I saw some outside the bus.

"The driver said he would get us home straight away. I was young too once, but I was never like that. I’m only 27, but things seem 10 times worse now. There were old people and young children on the bus. It was just unacceptable.

"I don’t know if you blame the schools, or the parents, but I’m going to have to think hard about getting the bus again."

Magna Carta head Mr Smith was adamant that Ms Crouch had confused the uniforms she saw with those of another school. He said the incident would have been reported to him if the culprit was from his school.

Mr Smith said he received an ‘enormous amount of positive feedback’ from the community about Magna Carta pupils, and regular patrols by staff outside the school and beyond prevented antisocial behaviour incidents.

He added: "I don’t deny there was an incident, but it was categorically not Magna Carta students."

Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals NHS Trust associate director of operations Liz Towell said: "Fortunately, such incidents are very rare, and we are thankful that our staff and the other passengers travelling on the Peterbus were not injured."

The damaged Peterbus was returned to service on Monday last week.